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Monday, September 12, 2011

A while back I posted the original trailer for the New Three Musketeers Movie, produced by Paul W. S. Anderson and slated for release in October 2011. In fact since September 1st 2011, this movie was already being shown in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. That's not surprising, since the original novel was created by a French author. This New Trailer was presented about 2 months ago and it shows a lot more of an organized plot for the forthcoming movie.

The main antagonists [the cool bad guys] are:
Cardinal Richelieu, played by Christoph Waltz,
The Duke of Buckingham [played by Orlando Bloom, the notorious "wife stealer" from the Troy Movie]
and Milady de Winter [she's a lethal assassin, played by Milla Jovovich].

In the images below the good guys are on the left, and on the right:

Some History on the Musketeers

I commonly try to teach something when I post these articles. And this note is presented along that same informative vein. I've already categorized this movie as Steampunk Sci Fi [that genre was discussed in this article Here], per some of the airship technology they showcased in the movie trailer, which almost look like exaggerations of creative works by inventors like Leonardo Da Vinci who lived between the 1400s - 1500s. Steampunk is a topic that I talk about quite a bit in this sci fi blog. But that sort of technology is tied to the 1800s.

There have been several interpretations of The Three Musketeers story, which was initially a book written by the french author Alexandre Dumas in the 1800s. And honestly, despite the abundant sword-play that the classic story dictates, the term "Musketeers" is actually tied to the "musket weapon", an old single-fire shot-gun / long-gun that the ancient infantry soldiers of France utilized.

Those weapons were extremely lethal and shockingly unreliable, in terms of their accuracy. And they often needed Y-shaped metal stands so that the soldier could place the gun in the middle of the topmost fork of the support - in order to overcome the turbulent recoil effect and get a steady straight shot. They are the ancient predecessors of the automatic rifle, which has now become a core weapon in most military units around the world. The pic on the left is from a classic war reenactment by French soldiers.

Some believe that musket guns & early explosive firearms originated in Europe in the middle of the 14th century. But archaeological findings have revealed that they were used back in the 13th century [the 1200s] within battles fought amongst Chinese warlords in the middle of Asia - the same country that brought us "fireworks".

The very first Three Musketeers movie dates back to 1903, and it wasn't in English - it was fully produced by the French, and there aren't any lasting viewable records of it.

Perhaps the most popular version of this story in the Western World is the movie tilted The Man in the Iron Mask. It stared Leonardo DiCaprio and was produced back in 1998. In that movie, the 3 heroes were actually retired, but they came back into the militant service to help right a wrong that had corrupted the monarchy of France.

The Sexy Female Assassin - Milady De Winter

In the New Three Musketeers 2011 Movie, Milla Jovovich [the ass-kicking lady behind the Resident Evil franchise] perfectly plays the lethal role of Milady De Winter, a role that hasn't been prominently highlighted over the years in previous mainstream Musketeer flicks.

The beautiful dress for Milady De Winter is shown on the left. It is a classic Victorian bustle styled dress, meaning that the derriere is enhanced, while the emphasis on her slender waist is punctuated by the tight in-seams. Silk, lace and satin trims also adorn the dress, and this sort of outfit is commonly worn with a pushup bra, to enhance the female's bosom. The past Sci Fi blog article that talks about Steampunk & bustle dresses was posted HERE.

According to the novel, she is a sly, seductive and clever spy for Cardinal Richelieu. And she is the wife of Athos the Musketeer, yet they don't have the most amicable relationship; and neither are they completely divorced [he supposedly hanged her upon discovering that she was a criminal, after they were married. But being the bad-ass assassin that she is, she survived the damn hanging and kept working as a spy / double agent].

In the book, Milady also kills D'Artagnan's lover and landlady; and that only fosters the flames of rage in the heart of the aspiring Musketeer, who joins the other Three Musketeers in their quest for justice against the diabolical Cardinal. In the movie, the Cardinal wants to seize the French throne from King Louis and utilize the Steampunk airships and futuristic weapons to conquer all of France, England and eventually the World. And his plot for widespread dominance plays out in the movie, while the four heroes strive to foil his plans.

Here are some more pictures of Milady De Winter [Milla Jovovich], and Orlando Bloom, along with the actual 3 [or 4] heroic Musketeers. In the movie, Milla actually wears a variety of bustle dresses and each one literally projects a different mood.

I'm not too sure about what it is like being married to a sexy spy, but the following images of Milady and Athos will showcase both the beauty and the danger of being in love with an assassin. One minute, she's ready to tease you, right in the oval office... and the next... she acts like you owe her the damn rent money on the condo... The movie is slated for release in the USA on October 21, 2011.